Parents reminded NAPLAN not compulsory

The Save Our Schools group is lobbying for ACT education authorities and principals to inform parents their children do not have to participate in literacy and numeracy testing.

The annual NAPLAN tests for school students in years three, five, seven and nine to assess literacy and numeracy skills are due to start on Tuesday.

Save Our Schools convenor Trevor Cobbold says parents have been left in the dark about their right to withdraw children.

"The ACT Education Department website has no information on NAPLAN for parents, on the parent page, and there's no information that indicates that parents can withdraw their child from the tests, or how they would go about withdrawing their child from the tests if they wish," he said.

Mr Cobbold says many parents do not realise the tests are not mandatory.

"Parents of young children in particular, are being concerned about their children going through extensive periods of stress," he said.

"We tell parents that they actually can withdraw their children from the test, and this is often big news to them because they believe, quite wrongly that the tests are compulsory."

But the ACT Education Directorate has defended the level of information provided to parents about NAPLAN tests.

Director General of Education Diane Joseph says parents are getting the information they need.

"Information about whether students should or should not sit the tests is available form our schools," she said.

"I encourage any parents who've got any concerns, whether it is about children sitting the test or whether they are a bit anxious about sitting the test, they should speak to their child's teacher or their child's principal."

Ms Joseph says 18,000 Canberra students are expected to sit the national benchmark tests in the coming days.

"It is expected that children do sit the NAPLAN tests because it enables everyone, parents, teachers, students to have more information about how children are progressing," she said.

"Assessment is a regular part of the daily class routine [and] NAPLAN is another one of those assessments."